Losing something you hold dear
by asuka02redeva
Summary: How far would you go to protect the one you love? Yoh X Anna DISCONTINUED
1. Default Chapter

Asuka02redeva  
  
Serenitymoon@lycos.com  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King or any of the characters used in this story.  
  
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I needed a new genre of stories, so here we go. I really like the Anna X Yoh pairing, I find it quite cute; therefore this will be an Anna/Yoh fic. More humor than anything else. ^.^ Hope you enjoy.  
  
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It started out as another typical morning; however, this morning was Saturday and Yoh, Ryu, and Manta were quite confused…  
  
"…I've had breakfast waiting for almost an hour now," commented Ryu.  
  
"Hmmm…I don't hear anything," replied Manta, "What do you think Yoh? Yoh????"  
  
Both Ryu and Manta (who had their ears up against Anna's door) turned to Yoh and both sweatdropped to find him leaning up against her bedroom door sound asleep.  
  
"…Well, at least it's Saturday, maybe Anna will allow him to sleep in?" questioned Manta, with a not so convincing face.  
  
"…Well, if she ever comes out perhaps she will think about it?"   
  
"…One thing is for sure, Anna's never been this late before..." whispered Manta seeing Yoh start to wake up. Truth was he felt bad for the poor guy, having to endure Anna's training 24-7.   
  
"You're right, Manta. Miss Anna never has been this late before. Do you think she's sick?"  
  
Manta sweatdropped as the thought of Anna laying sick in bed popped into his mind. If Anna were sick then that meant….a Cheshire cat grin appeared on his face…no having to listen to Anna's lectures, having to endure her beatings, OR Yoh having to endure her training program!   
  
"…Manta?" Ryu arched an eyebrow, "You seem a little too happy at the thought of Miss Anna being sick."   
  
"…Who? Me? Naaaaah…but just to be sure…maybe someone should go in and see?"  
  
"Good idea. You go ahead Manta and I'll wait outside."  
  
"What?! ME?! No way! I'm not going in there! You do it!"  
  
"Me? No I have to keep breakfast warm. You know how Miss Anna hates a cold breakfast."  
  
Manta sweatdropped feeling that there was no way out…until…  
  
"Yoh?! WAKE UP!"  
  
Yoh nearly fell over as he heard his best friend wail into his ear. He blinked and looked down at Manta.  
  
"Hey, what's up?"  
  
Manta and Ryu both sweatdropped as it was apparent that Yoh had completely forgotten where they were and what they had been trying to find out.  
  
"Ryu and I think that Anna is sick. Since she's your fiancée you should go in and check on her."  
  
Yoh's eyes widened and before he had time to waves his hands or create a good defense for himself, he was being pushed into her room and heard the door close behind him quickly.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yoh gulped and let his eyes focus within the darkened room. God only knew what Anna would do to him if she found him in her room. He was sure that she wouldn't kill him, beat him senseless, but never kill him…and if he could endure her training he figured one tiny beating on a Saturday morning wouldn't be too bad…he hoped…  
  
He slowly made his way over to her bed where he could hear her breathing softly. He strained his eyes to make out her shape. She was under her covers, her eyes closed, and she looked peaceful lying there. Yoh shook his head after finding himself staring at her. How could this be the same girl? The Anna he knew was always pushing him to be the best…she said she was doing it so she could have an easy life as the Shaman King's wife…but he couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe deep down Anna really cared for him. What was he thinking?! He didn't want to marry Anna, it was just that she was his first crush…and…yup he was staring again…  
  
"Can I help you with something?" came a voice.  
  
All of the color faded from his face as he got a nervous smile, when he looked to find Anna sitting up in her bed. Somehow he had missed that part in between his thoughts and his staring.  
  
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"It's pretty quiet in there," stated Manta, his ear up against the door still.  
  
"I agree. You think she killed him?" asked Ryu, with an all too serious tone.  
  
Manta's eyes widened and he gulped at the thought of one pissed off Anna beating poor Yoh to a bloody pulp. "…I…I sure hope not…"  
  
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"Uh…I…uh…" he tried explaining in between nervously laughter and playing with his DJ headphones, "Manta and Ryu were worried about you…they thought you might be sick"  
  
"Were you worried about me as well?" she asked in all seriousness, arching an eyebrow.   
  
He suddenly felt rather nervous about such a simple question. Usually Anna didn't really care what he thought…or if she did she never made it a known fact.  
  
"Well…sure Anna, why wouldn't I be? If you're sick, I guess I would want to make you feel better and all," he explained with that familiar smile appearing on his face.  
  
She looked down and he could almost make out the hint of a smile on her face, as if the thought of him caring for her made her happy. This thought caused him to blush a little.   
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Manta and Ryu had remained outside of her door. It was definitely too quiet…had she already killed him? Had she merely tossed his body out the window? Both leaned closer trying to get a better idea of what was going on…  
  
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"…I appreciate your concern Yoh," she began, looking down and gripping a piece of her blanket within her hand.  
  
"Anna?" Yoh asked noticing she seemed different, as if something was troubling her, "Hey, what's wrong?"  
  
"…I have this terrible feeling…that something is going to…"  
  
~~~~CRASH~~~~  
  
Unfortunately, before she could finish she found her bedroom door come flying down with two figures lying on top of its remains, laughing nervously and sweatdropping.   
  
Both Anna and Yoh blinked almost in shock. Almost was the key word as Anna stood up from her bed and stepped over both of them.  
  
"I expect my door to be fixed before I am done with breakfast," she ordered making her way to the kitchen.  
  
Yoh noticed that she hadn't really seemed all too mad about him being in her room or the fact that Manta and Ryu had broken her door. She merely wished for the door to be put back up before she was finished eating. And what was it she had wished to tell him before?  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna sighed as she sat down in her chair at the kitchen table and picked at her eggs with her fork until the yolks had run into the rest of her meal. She sighed quietly after taking a bite to find her breakfast to be cold.   
  
'It's my fault this time…' she thought, pushing the plate away from herself, '…I wish I knew what was to come, I wish I could stop it…but I'm afraid…' she shook her head at the thought, 'I will not allow myself to be afraid…'  
  
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Manta and Ryu were busy putting Anna's door back up and looked over at Yoh who seemed to be daydreaming.  
  
"What are you thinking about, Yoh?" asked Manta with a friendly smile.  
  
"…Oh…just thinking is all…" he replied, placing his headphones on his ears, "Hey, did you guys notice that Anna is acting different?"  
  
Manta and Ryu both hmm'd for a moment, with their index fingers on their chins.  
  
"Now that you mention it" began Manta, "Anna didn't seem all that upset about us breaking her door…I mean, I thought she was going to beat us."  
  
"Yes, that's right. You're still alive as well Yoh…" Ryu gasped as a thought dawned on him, "Is Miss Anna dying?!"  
  
Manta and Yoh both nearly fell over backwards at the thought.   
  
"You know what they say, when someone is dying they suddenly become nice to those around them," Ryu explained to the two.  
  
"…But Anna? Dying? I…just don't think so…" Manta stated with a nervous laugh and a sweatdrop forming, looking to Yoh for support.  
  
"No. It's not that Ryu…I think Anna had a vision or something…she was trying to tell me but you guys broke her door down," he replied, now listening to his music.  
  
Both Ryu and Manta sweatdropped, going to back to their task of fixing Anna's door before she was done with her breakfast.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna looked up from her plate to find the spirit of the daughter (who had lived in the house that she now lived in) watching her.   
  
"So you were worried about me as well?" she questioned, seeing the spirit nod, "That was very kind of you."  
  
She watched the spirit's motions, for she hardly ever spoke…  
  
"…I'm not really sure what is wrong. I just have these feelings is all, and I feel as if something is going to happen to…" she trailed off.  
  
She looked up to find Amidamaru floating in front of her with a puzzled look on his face. "Anna, what do you feel is going to happen?"  
  
Anna looked put out and tried to hide her worry, "Don't you have training to do with Yoh?" she asked, acting displeased.   
  
"Yoh is worried about you. I can sense it. If you feel that something is going to happen to him shouldn't he know?"  
  
Anna stood up and pushed in her chair with a bit of force. "Everything is not always about Yoh and what is going to happen to him. Did it ever occur to you that perhaps something would happen to m…" she trailed off quickly, picking up her plate and scooping the remains of her breakfast into the trashcan before setting the plate in the sink.   
  
Amidamaru was at a loss for words. He knew that she worried about him becoming Shaman King; however, the thought had not occurred to him that perhaps the thing troubling her was not about Yoh at all.   
  
"Anna…I…" he tried to explain.  
  
"Mind your own business. This has nothing to do with you," she replied as she walked out of the kitchen toward the hallway closet to get her shoes.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yoh heard the closet door open and shut just as quickly over his music, as he stood up and walked into the hallway to find Anna slipping on her shoes and wrapping her scarf around her head.   
  
"Going somewhere Anna?" he asked, with a smile as he leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.  
  
"Yes. I have some errands to run," she replied, as she wrapped her scarf just the right way.   
  
"Hey, what were you going to tell me earlier?"  
  
"It was nothing," she replied as she fixed her spirit beads around her neck to her liking while she looked in the mirror.  
  
Yoh watched her reflection and could tell that she was hiding something.   
  
"Anna, I know you may not care or anything, but I'm here for you if you want to talk."  
  
She watched his figure in the mirror as he walked away. She sighed and grabbed her purse before walking out the front door and down the steps.  
  
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Little did she know that her visions were already taking effect…  
  
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That's it for now. Fairly short I know, but I just wanted to see how many reviews I could get and if anyone really enjoyed it. Thanks for reading! I apologize for any punctuation problems, ff.net doesn't always do well on that aspect. ^.^ Ja Ne 


	2. Someone needs to tell Ryu he asks too ma...

Asuka02RedEva  
  
Serenitymoon@lycos.com  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King or any of the characters used in this fic.  
  
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Here goes chapter two. Glad that a few people thought that the plot line had potential so thank you.   
  
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Anna made it half way over the bridge before she stopped and looked down at her reflection as it rippled in the small stream below her. She leaned on the railing and tried to make a slight smile. It was no use, however, she couldn't get over the feeling that something was coming.  
  
'Perhaps Yoh would be happy if something were to happen to me?' she thought, watching a fish jump and its presence rippling her reflection causing it to appear as though she were fading away, 'He would not have to listen to me ordering him around, or endure my training program, and I know that his life has changed since I arrived…maybe it would be for the best if I were to…' she could not finish because the thought frightened her so.  
  
She suddenly gripped her prayer beads as a chill ran throughout her entire body as if paralyzing her. Something was watching her, she could feel its eyes upon her…she turned around quickly to find nothing, no one insight at all, and it was so still and quiet…too quiet, no birds were heard…  
  
'An omen...' she thought, the hand holding her prayer breads trembling, 'I've never felt such a strong presence before…I've never felt so helpless, it's as if I am being suffocated…'  
  
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Yoh stood outside on the front porch looking up at the sky.  
  
"Something wrong Yoh?" Manta asked, looking up at his young friend.  
  
"There are no birds in the sky," replied Yoh not taking his eyes from the sky.  
  
Manta blinked and then looked around. It was true; there were no birds in the sky, nor any to be found in any of the nearby trees. "What do you think it means?"  
  
"…Death…" whispered Yoh, a call from the rooftop caught his attention as he turned.  
  
"A raven?" questioned Manta, arching an eyebrow, "Yoh?"   
  
He noticed that Yoh's mood had changed. He was staring at the raven as if questioning its purpose for being there. Manta, blinked when he saw Yoh's eyes widen.  
  
'Death?' he thought, 'My own? Am I to fail the shaman fight?'  
  
Manta sweatdropped, attempting to wave a hand in front of Yoh's face. Key word here people, attempting…makes a big difference when the person you're trying to get to notice you is at least 4 feet taller than yourself.  
  
"Yoh? Hey Yoh? What's wrong?"  
  
Yoh snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at his best friend and smiled. He had that carefree expression on his face once more.   
  
"It's nothing Manta, I was just wondering if Ryu would have dinner ready before Anna got back."   
  
"…Yeah…that is a good question. I'd hate to see Anna's face when she came home to no dinner waiting for her. I bet she'd have us doing housework til we dropped."  
  
"I don't know. Anna seems like she's got a lot on her mind right now. Maybe she'd go easy on us, huh?" Yoh asked, placing his hands behind his head and smiling.  
  
"Well, you never know I suppose."  
  
As Yoh stood there he couldn't help but think, 'Anna was trying to tell me something earlier…something was going to happen…to me? Was she trying to warn me?'  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna ran off of the bridge as fast as her legs would carry her. The feeling was too overpowering for her to take at the moment and it was clouding the rest of her thoughts. She could feel her heart pounding within her chest as she ran harder and faster. It was as if the presence she had felt was following her, getting closer with every step she took. There was no safe haven now.   
  
Her scarf tails were caught in the breeze as they flew behind her. She gripped her prayer beads within her hand. None of her visions or the emotions she found herself picking up on had ever been so strong before.   
  
In all of her life nothing had actually frightened her…but now…she was terrified of not being in control of what was coming…coming for…  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yoh, who had been sitting in the living room quickly, removed his headphones as he suddenly had a sharp pain shoot through his mind. He had had this feeling once before. It had been when Manta had been captured by "The Lizard" who had taken over Ryu's body.   
  
He looked around to find Manta was there, watching TV while Anna was still away. Manta was fine. He could hear Ryu busy preparing dinner…they were fine…then who?  
  
Yoh quickly stood up as realization dawned on him. "Anna!" he exclaimed as he ran out the front door, leaving a bewildered Manta and Ryu inside the house.  
  
"I don't see Anna," commented Ryu, looking up from the meal that was being cooked.  
  
"Perhaps he was giving you a heads up that she was on her way?" Manta asked, with a shrug.  
  
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Yoh ran down the street, he didn't know what could have made him feel that Anna had been in danger. He just knew that he had to be sure that she was alright. As he turned the corner (in record time I may say. See? Anna's training is good for something)…  
  
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She had not seen the car coming towards her after she had run out into the middle of the street. Her only thoughts had been of the presence she had felt and how it was right behind her.   
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yoh stared at several cars, which were piled up around a small figure. He ran towards them, sliding across the hood of one car to find Anna in the middle of the collision.  
  
"Anna?!" he yelled, as he stopped short in front of her.  
  
Anna, who had been nearly crouched down with her hands over her ears and her eyes closed, slowly opened her eyes, looking up to find Yoh with a very worried expression on his face.  
  
"Anna?" he asked…crouching down next to her and slowly reaching to place his hand over one of hers.  
  
Anna suddenly realized what had happened and felt both embarrassed and weak at the moment. She gently batted his hand away from her own as she stood up.   
  
"Anna? Maybe you shouldn't...what happened???" Yoh was rather confused at the moment.  
  
"…I…I don't…" she could see the worry in his eyes and she decided against it, "Isn't it obvious? Poor driving skills. Seems they'll give a license to anyone nowadays."   
  
The drivers were busy discussing how it was as if she had been chased right out into the street. There had been no warning and she seemed to be so desperate and terrified, and not because of the cars coming at her either.  
  
Yoh arched an eyebrow at their thoughts. Had Anna been chased? By who? Was there a new Shaman in town?  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna had started walking back home. 'It's best to leave before the authorities come,' she thought, '…How could I be so careless?'   
  
Yoh quickly ran after Anna until he was able to walk along side of her.   
  
"Anna? What happened back there? C'mon, you're not the type to run out in front of cars," admitted Yoh, trying to read her expressions as if they would give him some hint.  
  
"I told you, poor driving skills. Now, let's go home. I'm hungry and after dinner you can wash the dishes," she replied, cleverly avoiding the subject at hand.  
  
Yoh sighed as he walked along side of her. He noticed a cut on her face from where a piece of the road or perhaps a rock must have flown up at her during the collision. Without even thinking her reached his hand out to her and gently moved back some of her hair to reveal the small slash along her cheek bone.   
  
Anna tensed for a moment at his touch, but instead of turning around and giving him her famous punch; she took his hand in hers.  
  
"It's nothing. I'm fine. How did you know where I was?" she asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
Yoh looked down at her hand holding his and smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.  
  
"I just had this feeling. I'm glad that you're alright, Anna. Without you I'd be slacking off for sure, right?" he stated with a chuckle, trying to get her to smile.  
  
No smile came though. Instead she looked more troubled than ever and gently dropped his hand from her own and kept walking.   
  
Yoh wasn't sure what to think now. 'What is she keeping from me? Am I right to think that something is going to happen to me? She's acting so strangely…"  
  
As she walked over the bridge once more, she had to repeat to herself within her mind that nothing was there and that nothing had been earlier. It had all been in her imagination, she was overtired. Yes, that was it. A good night's sleep would fix everything and when she awoke the next morning it would be as if nothing had ever happened.  
  
Yoh walked behind her quietly over the bridge, still not knowing what she could be thinking or feeling. He continued to follow her until they had returned home.   
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ryu and Manta both greeted the two as they entered the house.   
  
"I have dinner waiting for you Miss Anna," stated Ryu, smiling nervously, hoping it would be to her approval.  
  
"It looks really good tonight, Anna. Ryu really outdid himself," commented Manta with a smile.  
  
"Please eat without me. I'm not very hungry tonight," replied Anna, as she slipped off her shoes and headed towards her bedroom.  
  
Ryu and Manta both blinked about a hundred times. Anna. Not. Hungry???? Was the world coming to an end?   
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna sat on her bedroom floor, her legs to her side as she was busy flipping through the pages of a large book. Her eyes scanned the book's pages quickly, as if looking for some hidden meaning for her visions to pop out at her.   
  
'…Nothing…this book is useless…' she thought and tossed it to the side of the room, grabbing another book and beginning the same process once more.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"This is really great, Ryu," complimented Manta as he took another bite.  
  
"Thank you, Manta. I find it odd that Anna didn't want any. It's her favorite too," replied Ryu, taking a sip of his tea.  
  
Yoh picked at his food. He appeared to be staring off into space. Amidamaru appeared, floating behind him.  
  
"What's wrong my friend?" he questioned, looking over Yoh's shoulder.  
  
"…It's nothing…just thinking…" he replied, taking a bite of his meal, "This is really great Ryu."  
  
"Why thank you, Yoh. I will be sure to save some for Anna, in case she is hungry later."  
  
"Yoh, you've been thinking a lot today. What's going on?" Manta asked, pushing his plate aside to show that Yoh had his undivided attention.  
  
"Really, it's nothing. I just think that Anna may be keeping something from us is all."   
  
Manta and Ryu both hmm'd for a moment…  
  
"Like what?" they both questioned simultaneously.  
  
"…I'm not really sure. With Anna it could be anything," replied Yoh with a sigh, as he propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his hand.  
  
Ryu gasped as another "bright" idea popped into his mind. "Do you think Anna has a boy friend?"   
  
Manta who had been sipping his tea suddenly started choking, spraying Yoh with the hot tea. Yoh's eyes widened as he jumped up.   
  
"Anna? A boy friend????" Manta asked nearly in hysterics, "Who in their right mind would want to date her? Oh, I'm sure the first week would be nice, but then she'd do a 360 and it'd be "do my laundry," "do the dishes," "make my dinner," and God knows what else."  
  
Ryu thought about this for a moment and then pointed his finger at Yoh, nearly jumping over the table. "And what do you think? Is Anna not supposed to be your fiancée? What if some guy was trying to steal her from you? Would you fight for her or would you gladly give her up?"  
  
A rather large sweatdrop appeared on the back of Yoh's head. He blinked at all of Ryu's questions. "…I…uh…well…I'd…uh…"  
  
Now both Manta and Amidamaru were interested in how Yoh would answer all of Ryu's questioned. All three (including Ryu) leaned in closer to Yoh.  
  
Yoh gulped and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Gee, you guys, how the heck should I know? Plus, I thought that Anna wanted to marry me. She's always pushing me to become a better Shaman."  
  
All three couldn't argue with that theory, however, inquiring minds wanted to know.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
There sat a fairly large pile of books on her bedroom floor. None of the books seemed to have exactly what she was looking for. No spirit, no evil force, nor a spell that could be responsible for her visions. It seemed that she was in denial; however, what she hated most was to give into defeat. She had never lost to anything in her entire life and now it seemed as though what she would lose would be the thing that should be valued most…  
  
'I don't want to d…' her thoughts were cut short as she heard the guys running from the kitchen to the living room.  
  
She sighed, standing up and heard a small rumble from her stomach. She figured it best to eat and then come back to her work. As she opened the door and stepped out of her room, she barely had time to realize what was going on before she was tackled to the ground.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Manta, Ryu, and Amidamaru all stopped dead in their tracks as they watched Yoh take down Anna after running full speed ahead from them. The same image popped into their minds: one angry Anna beating the living shit out of a poor pitiful Yoh.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yoh looked down and got the most nervous smile known to man. He could practically picture his life flashing before his eyes as his eyes met Anna's.   
  
Anna, now underneath Yoh, looked up at him and watched his eyes intently. So this was the guy she was supposed to marry? The boy who thought their house was obviously some sort of center for a marathon to be held. However, with everything going on at the moment, she figured that once, just this once…  
  
"…Ya know, it's common to apologize to someone when you run them down," she stated her voice no more than a whisper, after having the wind knocked out of her.  
  
Yoh laughed nervously, almost in shock that he hadn't been thrown clear across the house by now.  
  
"I…uh…" he began, still laughing nervously and thinking of the right words to say, "Sorry Anna? Didn't really see ya there."   
  
"I'll let you off the hook just this once. But mark my words you do it again…" she stated, with the all familiar "You're going to be in a world of pain" look, followed by her reassuring smile that she would follow through with her threat.   
  
"…Won't happen again, I assure you!" exclaimed Yoh as he quickly made it to his feet, and rubbing the back of his head with that nervous expression on his face, he held out his hand to her.  
  
To both of their surprises and to that of the others (with it being a miracle that their jaws hadn't already hit the floor or that a large pool of drool now sat at their feet), Anna took his hand and he slowly pulled her up to her feet.   
  
Their eyes met for a moment as Yoh tried once more to search her eyes for what she could be possibly hiding. Anna on the other hand was lost in her thoughts. Who would he marry in her place? Perhaps there was already someone better suited to take her place…  
  
"Anna…I hope you'll eventually tell me what's bothering you," he whispered, trying not to make her uncomfortable due to the fact that the others were watching.  
  
Anna, however, was not quite ready to tell Yoh about her visions or that she had no way of preventing them. It was very out of character of her but…  
  
"…Thank you. I'm fine, really."   
  
With that she dropped his hand and walked past Yoh, as well as, the other three, making sure not to slip in any of the drool that may have landed on the carpet from their mouths hanging open.   
  
"Don't make that face too long boys, they make stay that way."   
  
She walked into the kitchen and Ryu was the first to snap out of shock. He quickly ran after Anna to reheat her dinner.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna was about to reach into the fridge when Ryu offered to reheat her dinner for her. She decided not to argue with him and nodded in acceptance.  
  
"I hope it is to your liking," he stated, placing her dinner in front of her once it had been reheated.  
  
"It looks fine, thank you."  
  
"Miss Anna, excuse me for being nosey, but are you alright?"   
  
She looked up from her meal and noticed the nervousness in his posture. She sighed quietly and gave him a reassuring look.  
  
"I'm fine, just overtired. I haven't gotten much sleep lately," she replied, in partial honesty.  
  
"Well, that's good to know. I know that Yoh was worried about you and Manta as well."   
  
She took a sip of her tea and couldn't help but think how all three were worried about her. If she were to tell them (especially Yoh) the truth, then his mind would not be clear and he would not be able to focus on the task ahead, to win the Shaman Fight.   
  
Her nose suddenly wrinkled up. 'Who made this tea, the squirt????' It was toxic by all means…  
  
"Here we thought that maybe you had a new suitor. Maybe that's what Yoh needs to get him into shape. Miss Anna you should go and find yourself a boy friend to ignite the fighting spirit within Yoh!" exclaimed Ryu getting a little too into this.  
  
Anna sweatdropped, as she spit the tea back into her cup to prevent herself from choking. Yoh who had just heard the tail end of that conversation nearly fell over backwards at the thought. While Manta just blinked and still was in awe about someone liking Anna…and living long enough to continue liking her.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
That's it for this week, leaving Thursday for a trip to NYC and won't be back til Sunday. Hope you enjoyed. I know it's not very long but small chapters keep you guessing. Please review. Thanks! Ja Ne ^.^ 


	3. Shadows and Voices

Asuka02RedEva  
  
Serenitymoon@lycos.com  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King or any of the characters used in this fic.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Once Anna had retreated back to her room (and with good reason), Yoh and Manta continued to stare at Ryu.   
  
"What are you both staring at?" Ryu asked, obviously confused.  
  
"…You…Why?...How???" began Yoh, still in shock as he pointed his finger at Ryu.  
  
"I believe what Yoh is trying to say is, you want Anna to get a boyfriend? Are you crazy?!" replied Manta, eyes wide.  
  
Ryu looked even more confused. "I merely say these things so Yoh will become stronger. They say if you have someone to protect you can become an even greater fighter."  
  
"I appreciate the thought, Ryu…but I don't see that being a possibility in the near future. I mean, Anna and I were engaged a long time ago by our grandparents…so I don't really see her going after some new guy," explained Yoh, regaining his composure.  
  
"…If you say so…" commented Ryu, "now who wants dessert?"  
  
Of course, all hands went up, including Amidamaru who then got teary eyed cuz he couldn't have any…  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna had fallen asleep after making it half way through a book of omens. Her head rested on top of the open book…  
  
She found herself walking through a deep fog. It was dark and neither light nor voices could be found. She held her spirit beads tightly (they seemed to give her some sort of reassurance).   
  
She suddenly felt as though she were being watched from within the darkness.   
  
"Show yourself!" she yelled, gripping her beads tighter, "I know you're there!"  
  
Anna could feel herself trembling. Never in her life had she been actually afraid…she had always needed to be strong, to show no fear…but now, some unknown presence was coming for her, and for once, she did not have the answers…  
  
"I can feel your presence, as soon as I pinpoint your location I shall send you straight to hell!" she exclaimed, trying to sound boastful, paranoid that the presence may sense her fear.  
  
She suddenly felt her spirit beads be yanked and with great force. The force caused her entire body to be pulled (due to the fact that the spirit beads had been wrapped around her wrist). Anna felt a sharp pain course through her wrist up to her shoulder; it was as if in that one pull her entire shoulder had been dislocated.   
  
She remained brave though up until the moment where she was lifted up off the ground by a force so great that she had never experienced such terror within her entire life…  
  
Anna awoke with a sharp gasp as she backed away from her book as if it were going to steal her very life. Once her eyes focused around the poorly lit room she was able to regain some of her composure.  
  
"…Just a dream…" she stated, trying to reassure herself.  
  
She could feel her heart racing within her chest and as she tried to place her right hand over her heart in order to try and calm herself…  
  
"…Oh…God…" she whispered, in the dark, "…My…arm…"  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yoh smacked his alarm clock over and over again until it had stopped its annoying ringing. He groaned and slowly sat up in his bed. Another Monday…this meant…another school day…  
  
He blinked, usually within the first five minutes after his alarm clock had gone off, Anna would already be banging on his door and threatening to add to his training program if he weren't dressed within two minutes. No sound came from the hallway…  
  
Yoh quickly got dressed and slowly opened his door and peeked out, expecting to find a disgusted blonde tapping her foot…but she wasn't there…  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ryu had eggs and bacon cooking on the stove. Yoh smiled as the fragrance hit him head on.  
  
"Morning Ryu."  
  
"Good morning. Breakfast will be done soon. Would you like something to drink?"  
  
"Uh…orange juice please?" his reply was more of a question as he looked to find Anna wasn't sitting at the table. "…Ryu…where's…"  
  
"Miss Anna? I don't know if she's even up. I'm surprised that she isn't here by now for breakfast…"  
  
"Yeah, Anna's not one to miss meals…definitely not breakfast…I better go…"  
  
Just as Yoh was about to stand up and go see what was keeping her, Anna walked into the kitchen.   
  
"…Anna…"  
  
"Good morning, Miss Anna. Breakfast is…"  
  
Both trailed off as they saw Anna wearing her school uniform. The short sleeve shirt, however, did not cover the bandages starting at her elbow and ending at her wrist on her right arm.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna could see both males staring at her arm and took a seat.   
  
"I'll have two eggs, over easy if you don't mind," she began, "orange juice to drink."  
  
Ryu snapped out of his coma as he smelled the bacon starting to burn. He quickly turned the heat down and hurried to save the breakfast.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
Yoh, however, was still in shock. "…Anna…" his eyes were fixated on the bandages.  
  
"Hmmm? Oh this?" she asked, seeming as though it didn't pain her so, "Burned myself last night," she lied.  
  
"How???" he asked, still in disbelief.  
  
"The stove of course. I didn't eat much, remember? I left the burner on and reached over to get something out of the cupboard, pretty stupid actually."  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yoh merely nodded, and picked at the food that Ryu had placed in front of him.   
  
'This just isn't like Anna…running out in front of cars? Burning herself? What's going on with her?'   
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna noticed how quiet it was at the breakfast table and that she herself was being quiet…better start ordering them to do something…  
  
"If you're not going to eat that then I would advise you to be getting ready for school. We don't have all day you know."  
  
Yoh heard her loud and clear and started gobbling down his meal just as fast as the fork could reach his mouth.  
  
"I'm leaving now," she stated, standing up and pushing her chair in.  
  
Yoh had a mouthful at the moment and in between chewing managed to say "Don't you want me to walk to school with you?"  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
All three heard the front door open as Manta rounded the corner with his school bag.  
  
"Hey Yoh, you ready for school???"  
  
Anna took the liberty of answering the question for Yoh. "Actually, Yoh is running late so you and I will be walking to school together." She grabbed her jacket and her book bag quickly.   
  
Manta's hair nearly stood up on end as he saw his life flash before his eyes at the thought of walking ALONE with the dreaded Anna; the horror!!!  
  
Yoh was practically choking on his food, and Ryu was getting a good image of how Manta looked…before he would have to visit him at his funeral.  
  
"But…I…uh…I…" Manta tried to say.  
  
"Do you have a problem with that, shortie?" Anna asked, her arms crossed over her chest and giving him THE look.  
  
"…Uh…nope, no problem at all," he replied, a nervous smile pasted on his face.  
  
With that the two exited the kitchen and headed out the front door…  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
As the two walked down the street, pure silence seemed to follow them. Manta looked as if he were having withdrawals from coffee (twitching every other second), while Anna rolled her eyes.  
  
"Something wrong shortie?" she asked, looking down at him.  
  
"…N-Nothing!" he exclaimed, quickly covering his head with his book bag.  
  
Anna sweatdropped and arched an eyebrow, "Did you feel a rain drop? Or are you avoiding bird droppings?" she asked, a smirk appearing.  
  
Manta sweatdropped…and slowly uncovered his head, "…Neither…I just…uh…"  
  
"I'm not going to hit you, you know," she stated, with a sigh.  
  
Manta blinked and then got a "Why not?" look on his face. "Hey Anna…I was just wondering if…uh…something was bothering you…" Due to reflexes the bag was once again covering his head.  
  
"…Did I ever tell you that I'm glad you and Yoh are friends?"  
  
Manta nearly fell over backwards. Where had that come from???? He blinked nearly in disbelief as he looked up at her. She had a far away look in her eyes…  
  
"…No…you didn't…" he replied, cautiously. 'Has Anna finally gone around the bend???'   
  
"…We should hurry before we're late for class…" she stated, as she turned the corner, leading down a side street.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Construction was being done on a nearby building on the street the two were walking on. An addition was being made to the building and beams were being lifted by a crane…  
  
Anna suddenly heard a loud creaking sound, "Look out!!!" yelled a man as the cable holding the beam suddenly let go…  
  
Manta just barely had time to look up as he felt himself pushed (…well…kicked…) forward and out of the way as the beam hit the ground…  
  
He fell to the ground with an unattractive THUD and collecting his thoughts suddenly found his eyes widening in shock.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Amidamaru suddenly appeared in the window…the bathroom window that is…(ah, yes the classic embarrassing scene)…  
  
"MASTER YOH?!?!?"  
  
Yoh (who should be used to this) screamed like a little girl as his spirit partner so rudely interrupted…such a…uh….special time??? (Work with me here people, what would you call it???)  
  
"I know! I know! I felt it too!!!" he exclaimed as he quickly ran out of the bathroom and headed out the front door.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Manta tried to piece together what had just happened. He had been walking next to Anna, and he had heard someone yell to look out…and then…  
  
'…Anna pushed me…out of the way of the beam…'  
  
Realization dawned on him as he found no Anna next to him…only a growing crowd circling around something…no…someone…  
  
"Anna!!!" he yelled, scrambling to get to her. "Please move! She's my friend!" For the some reason he didn't find himself taking back the word "friend", it just felt right. He cried at the people and tried to maneuver himself in between them.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"This way master Yoh!" exclaimed Amidamaru, directing him to the left.  
  
"Got it!" he replied, quickly crossing the street.  
  
"Master Yoh, I do not feel that Manta is in danger…"  
  
"Neither do I…" whispered Yoh, 'I just can't figure Anna being in danger is all…she's so strong…'   
  
"Master Yoh, quickly! I feel much worry coming from this direction!"  
  
Yoh could feel the emotions from the random observers in the crowd…  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Manta managed to squeeze through the members of the crowd and he gasped at what he found in front of him.  
  
"…Anna…" he whispered, as he slowly walked towards her.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yoh turned the corner to find a large crowd. He felt a pain course through him and quickly pushed his way through the crowd until he found Manta…  
  
"Yoh!" Manta cried out to his friend, his facial features clearly showing his concern.  
  
"Oh God!" he yelled as he slid next to her and quickly took her in his arms, "Anna! Anna wake up!"   
  
"An ambulance is on its way!"  
  
"What happened Manta?!"  
  
"We were just walking and they've been doing construction, and the cable just snapped and Anna pushed me out of the way and then I remember coming to and finding that she wasn't next to me!"  
  
Yoh looked down at Anna's leg. Her leg had been exposed due to the skirt that was chosen for her school uniform. There was a deep gash starting from the back of her knee down to her arch, a deep crimson red, stained the white knee high sock she wore. No one from the crowd had dared to apply pressure, fearing they may cause nerve damage to her leg.  
  
"…Anna…" Yoh whispered looking down at her lifeless body in his arms; he gently brushed her hair away from a cut over her eye.   
  
The ambulance soon came and Yoh was the only one allowed to accompany her. Manta ran to school to tell the teacher about the accident…  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Throughout the entire ride to the hospital Yoh did not drop Anna's hand from his own. Something had been on his mind…the strange events…Anna being so distant…before he was allowed to finish his thoughts, the ambulance came to a stop and the doors soon opened and Anna was rushed in to the E.R.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Manta sat in his first period class…the teacher's words seemed to be muffled due to the fact that his thoughts were on Yoh and Anna…  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It felt as though the doctor would never return and tell him about Anna. Thank goodness for Amidamaru accompanying him or he probably would have gone stir crazy by now.  
  
"Master Yoh, the doctor."  
  
Yoh stood up and met the doctor half way.   
  
"How is she?"  
  
The doctor smiled, "Your friend is very lucky. No permanent damage has been left to her leg. The only thing is that she hasn't regained consciousness…I assume that it's because of how hard her head hit the pavement. I wouldn't be too concerned at this point in time, I'm fairly certain that she will regain consciousness later in the day."  
  
Yoh let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks doc…I appreciate it."   
  
"You can go and see her if you like."   
  
Yoh didn't need to be told twice he ran in, with Amidamaru close behind.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
He soon found himself looking down at her as she slept. She looked so peaceful at the moment. Her left leg was completely wrapped from the knee down to her ankle.   
  
"Hey Anna…" he whispered, "You know…I don't say this often but…"   
  
Amidamaru was off in the corner whistling to himself after he had gotten the "…You gonna stand here for this?" look.  
  
"…Hey, I care about you…" he laughed nervously, "…so don't be worrying me anymore, alright?"  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna found herself in a child's room. Bears and dolls were on the shelves, and the room itself seemed to radiate certain warmth within it. She felt safe and at ease in the room.  
  
She took one of the bear's off of the shelf and sat down on the bed with the soft comforter on it. She closed her eyes and breathed in the sweet fragrance of the room. It smelled of gingerbread, peppermint, and fresh cut flowers. All of the fragrances had mixed together to become one.   
  
Her thoughts were broken, however, as the room suddenly became dark and damp. It was as if the warmth had been sucked out, and the sweet smell was gone. The bear in her hands suddenly started to dissolve.   
  
She stood up quickly dropping the bear, whose once friendly face now had turned into an unwelcoming one. Only black holes remained where its eyes, nose, and mouth had once been, creating a ghostly grin.  
  
"…So silent…so still…" a voice whispered.  
  
She spun around to find no one there…suddenly her arm throbbed and she found her leg give out, looking down at the blood dripping from her leg to the carpet. She gasped.  
  
"Who are you?! Why are you doing this to me?!" she cried out to the darkness itself.   
  
"…Pain…Silence…Death becomes you Anna…"  
  
She suddenly felt herself sinking, the darkness surrounding her…  
  
"Nooooooo!!!!"  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
Anna sprang up in the hospital bed. She was gasping, her surroundings obviously unknown to her…but there was light…and…her eyes found a sleeping figure on the side of her bed.  
  
She looked down to find her hand within his and exhaled, taking a moment to realize that she was alright. She gently squeezed his hand, just for the reassurance that he was really there and it was not merely a dream.  
  
"…Yoh…"  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
That's it for now. I'm sorry it took so long to update. Please review. ^.^ Ja Ne 


	4. Mind Games

Asuka02RedEva serenitymoon@lycos.com Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King or any of the characters used in this story.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hey, sorry about dropping off the face of the earth for a while (as far as writing goes). Been WAY busy! @-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna looked down at Yoh who was sound asleep and had his head rested on the side of her bed, his hand in hers. She took a deep breath and then her eyes made it to her leg, which she tried to move but it only made her wince.  
  
'...What happened? Oh, the construction site...I pushed Manta out of the way.'  
  
She reached up with her free hand and touched the bandage just above her eye. She sighed quietly, wondering what she was going to do.  
  
'...I can't keep hiding this from Yoh, but if I am to tell him the truth then his mind will not be clear for the shaman tournament,' her thoughts were broken as she heard a voice.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yoh was now awake and watching her, "Anna, you're finally awake. How do you feel?"  
  
Anna tried not to be sarcastic, "I'm fine," she replied quietly.  
  
"Are you sure you're fine? If you need something I can call the doctor," he stated, standing up and starting for the door.  
  
"No..." she whispered, grabbing his hand before he could leave her.  
  
This of course came as a surprise to Yoh and to Anna as well for that matter. Yoh looked down at his hand in hers as that familiar smile appeared on his face.  
  
"I won't leave if you don't want me to Anna; I just thought that you might want something for the pain is all," he explained as he sat back down on the chair next to her bed.  
  
Amidamaru suddenly appeared, "Mistress Anna, I am glad to see that you are alright."  
  
"...Thank you, Amidamaru...but you shouldn't be wasting your concern on me."  
  
"Anna? Amidamaru was just worried about you he—  
  
"You should be training; you have more important things to worry about then me," she whispered, trying not to show that she was grateful to have someone who cared for her.  
  
"Anna, training can wait. I'm just relieved that you're ok and all. Plus, you're going to need some help when we go home. The doctor says you'll be on crutches for a while," explained Yoh, looking to Amidamaru who confirmed what he had said.  
  
"I'm sure that Ryu can help me with some things. Now, I want you to continue the training program that I made for you the other day," she stated, looking at Yoh with a 'Don't argue with me' look.  
  
"...Fine Anna...I'll go train, but you have to promise me something, that you'll rest and that you'll wait for me to come back to get you later on."  
  
"I wouldn't dream of leaving, what do you expect me to do? Run away?" she asked a smirk appearing on her face.  
  
Yoh and Amidamaru both sweatdropped...  
  
"And how did you get me out so early anyways?" she arched an eyebrow, as she questioned Yoh.  
  
"Oh...well...that's not important," he began and then sighed, "What's important is that I'll be back to pick you up..." he sweatdropped and got a less than impressed expression, "...just as soon as my training is done."  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Later that afternoon Yoh came slowly walking into Anna's room. Her new training session had really thrown him for a loop and he could barely make it in the door without having to drag his feet.  
  
"You're. Later," stated Anna, her arms crossed over her chest as she sat on the side of the bed.  
  
"...Sorry...Anna...I came...as...fast as...I could..."  
  
"Well you're here now, let's get going," replied Anna as she took the crutches next to the bed and slowly began to stand up.  
  
"You need any help?" asked Yoh cautiously. God only knows what Anna could have done to him with those crutches.  
  
"No, I'm fine," she began as she used the crutches to walk past him, "...thank you though..."  
  
Both Yoh and Amidamaru (who had been eavesdropping) sweatdropped. Anna. Said. Thank you???  
  
But a familiar voice interrupted their thoughts...  
  
"Are you two coming?! We don't have all day ya know!"  
  
Yoh got that familiar look of horror on his face as he started to run out of the room. "Coming Anna!"  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
As the "loving" couple made their way to the hospital exit, two elderly men sweatdropped hearing "Don't walk so close!" "You almost knocked me over!" "Get the door!" "You're cooking dinner tonight for that!" "Your training schedule just got harder mister!"  
  
"Kids today..." stated one of the men quietly, shaking his head.  
  
"Problem is they just don't know how to express themselves...back in my day..."  
  
He was cut short as Anna tripped over his cane. Yoh suddenly froze in place, while visions of Anna pounding the crap out of a poor elderly man ran through his head. @-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna caught herself, holding onto a chair and turned around.  
  
"I'm very sorry miss!" cried the man.  
  
"Oh, please don't worry about it. After all it wasn't your fault...it was his for walking too close..." she replied as she swung her crutch in Yoh's direction.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The two men winced as they watched Yoh slide down the wall. They both sweatdropped as they watched Anna continue toward the exit.  
  
"...Those two must REALLY like each other," commented one of the men, rubbing his beard.  
  
"By gum! I remember the first time that happened to me. Pretty girl said I was walking too close to her," replied the other man, taking off his hat.  
  
"What happened?" asked his friend, sliding down his bifocals.  
  
"...I married her..." replied the man with a solemn look on his face holding his hat to his chest.  
  
"...So that's why you come in here so often..."  
  
"...I'm afraid so..."  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Manta and Ryu could hear the young couple coming into the driveway and heading toward the doorstep.  
  
"Allow me, Anna," stated Yoh as he opened the door quickly, a nervous smile on his face.  
  
Anna walked in the front door to see Manta and Ryu standing in front of a big welcome home dinner with all of her favorite foods.  
  
"Welcome home Anna!" both exclaimed as she sat down at the table, putting her crutches to her side.  
  
"Wow you guys sure went to a lot of trouble," commented Yoh as he took a seat at the table next to Anna.  
  
"You act as though I've been gone for a few weeks. It was only a day," replied Anna, taking a bowl of rice and grabbing her chopsticks.  
  
"Anna..." Manta began, looking down at the plate in front of him, "I'm really..."  
  
Anna set her bowl of rice on the table and looked sternly at Manta. "Don't you dare apologize, shortie."  
  
"...But I...well...it was because..." Manta tried to explain to her.  
  
"You have no reason to feel responsible. It happened. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to eat my meal before it becomes cold."  
  
Manta sighed watching Anna start to eat once more. Yoh nudged him with his elbow.  
  
"Look, she's fine. Don't worry about it so much," he whispered, as he dove into his own plate, Anna's training for the day had made him extremely hungry.  
  
"I'll have some more please," stated Anna, holding out her empty rice bowl.  
  
"Right away Miss Anna!" cried Ryu as he dashed into the kitchen.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
As she waited for Ryu to return to the table, her thoughts suddenly went to her visions.  
  
'...What am I to do? Yesterday was a scare, but today was too close, it could have been my life instead of my leg. Manta could have been killed...perhaps it's not safe for me to stay here? No, that's ridiculous...isn't it?'  
  
Her thoughts were broken as Ryu returned with the rice and filled her bowl to the rim.  
  
"There you are Miss Anna. Can I get you anything else?"  
  
"No, that will be all Ryu...thanks..." Again she found herself receiving odd glances, "What are you looking at?"  
  
All returned their attention to their meals, finding it best not to look in Anna's direction for the moment.  
  
Anna slowly too another bite of her meal, when her mind was taken over by the dream she had had in the hospital. She suddenly felt as though someone were strangling the life out of her. She reached her hand up to her neck and started to choke.  
  
"...Yoh...Manta...Ryu..." she looked around the table to find the three still eating. "...Why...don't they...look up?" she asked, gasping for air.  
  
"They don't look up, Anna..." came an eerie voice in her mind, "...because they don't care about you..."  
  
"That's...not...true!" she gasped, grabbing her neck as if trying to remove an invisible hand.  
  
"Of course it's true. If they cared about you, they would help you. Since the day you came they have never wanted you around. I'm doing you a favor."  
  
"...No...it's not true..." she stated feeling herself grow weaker.  
  
"Yoh doesn't care for you. All you do is boss him around and use him. You make his live miserable. Did you know that?"  
  
"...I...do???"  
  
Images of Yoh as a child appeared in her mind. Sure she had always picked on him, but wasn't he the kid who said that he loved her? Wasn't he the boy who she had played with and grown up with? And wasn't he the young man who said that he does worry about her and not to scare him again?  
  
"Now...please stop this nonsense...it's time to go, Anna."  
  
"It's...not true...it's not..true..." she gasped and finally with all her strength, "It's NOT true!!!!!" @-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Suddenly, the rice bowl she had been holding dropped to the floor and shattered. Her eyes widened as she sat in shock for a moment to find Yoh, Manta, and Ryu looking over at her.  
  
"Miss Anna?"  
  
"Anna?"  
  
"Hey, Anna, are you alright?"  
  
She looked down at the pieces of glass now resting on the carpet, mixed in with remaining rice that had once resided in it.  
  
"...I...I...Gomen Nasai..." she whispered looking down.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
As Ryu began to clean up the broken glass and assure her that it was no big deal, she suddenly coughed into her hand. When she moved her hand away from her mouth she noticed red droplets in the palm of her hand...  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I'll lay off for now, Anna...after all, I wouldn't want anyone to become too suspicious...but just you wait..."  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Please review! Hope you enjoyed! ^.^ Ja Ne 


	5. Pretty quiet lately

Asuka02RedEva Serenitymoon@lycos.com Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King or any of the characters used in this story.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I hoped that you enjoyed the last chapter and are still interested in the story. Little more fluff in some of the upcoming chapters, as well as, the POVS of Yoh and Anna.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It had been a month since the accident involving the construction site. The Shaman tournament had already begun and things were well on the way in regard to Yoh becoming the Shaman King. Anna's visions had ceased and for several weeks she thought that perhaps she had imagined them, or maybe they had been channeled to her by accident. In the back of her mind she couldn't believe any of the excuses she had come up with, but decided that it would be better to leave it alone.  
  
Her leg was getting better every day. In a week the cast could come off. The doctor had said that the cast would only need to be on for two weeks, but when an X-Ray was taken it showed a newly made fracture (aka: Anna's foot sent Manta flying out the door). She explained to the doctor that she had no idea how that could have happened. Shortie would pay for the extra three weeks of having to endure that dreaded cast. Yup, Anna was back to her normal self.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
After lunch, she went to her room and decided to try something new. Since her accident she hadn't stood on her leg. She carefully set the crutches down and tried to find balance in order to stand. Once she had succeeded with that she slowly took a step forward with her injured leg, trying not to press down too hard on it as she took a step with her other leg.  
  
She slowly found herself making her way toward her desk. A great sense of pride stirring in her; no way were crutches going to keep her down. She had a shaman to train. Well, it was pretty nice to watch Manta, Ryu, and Yoh do her every bidding, but enough was enough. It was much more fun to be able to chase them around the house and throw things at them when they messed up, then it was to sit on her butt and hope that she had good aim when it came to hitting a moving target. They ran because they knew she couldn't...cowards...well they'd get there's in a week...  
  
She turned slowly to walk back toward her door and to the dresser where her crutches were lying. As she took another step she heard a knock on the door.  
  
"Come in," she called, as she took a step, and tripped over a bunched spot in the carpet.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna, who was bracing herself for a fall, was rather surprised when she looked up to find herself in the arms of Yoh.  
  
"Anna, are you alright?" he asked, a little concerned as he held her up.  
  
"...I'm fine..." she replied, a little caught off guard and not quite sure how she should react.  
  
"You weren't using your crutches, huh?" he questioned, arching an eyebrow, "You think that's ok?" not wanting to anger her, he quickly added, "I mean, it's great that you're feeling stronger, but you wouldn't want to have an accident and have to wear the cast any longer."  
  
"...No...I suppose you're right," she replied, she then noticed just how close she was to him, and for a moment she allowed herself to not mind it.  
  
'...I can't be mad at him. After all, he did knock, and I did say come in, he caught me, and I believe that he....that he...cares about me...'  
  
Yoh looked down at Anna and smiled that goofy grin of his. He was amazed by the fact that she hadn't sent him flying into a wall or through the window from telling her that it might not be a good idea for her to be off of her crutches.  
  
'...Anna's usually so distant...but lately, even when she's ordering me around, it seems as though she's trying to let me in...I just wish that...Why is she looking at me like that? Oh...man...do we have an audience?' @-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yoh reluctantly turned his head to find Ryu and Manta standing in the doorway, both wide eyed, their mouths half open, and blinking slowly at the sight in front of them. Anna in Yoh's arms, Yoh not flying through window, and Yoh with that big goofy grin of his.  
  
"...Uh...did we interrupt something?" asked Manta, in disbelief.  
  
"Isn't it beautiful?" replied Ryu, "So young, so in love."  
  
This of course gained Ryu the famous glare of death. Anna slowly moved away from Yoh, and grabbed her crutches.  
  
"Is there a problem, Shortie?" asked Anna, look of death in eyes.  
  
"...Uh...nope...no problem at all...sorry I'll just be running a...."  
  
"Well, I must say you two do have perfect timing." She held out a list to Ryu. "Here's the list of things we need for tonight's dinner. I'm sure that you won't screw it up."  
  
Ryu sweatdropped, grocery shopping was getting off easy when it came to Anna. Manta was left though...  
  
"As for you squirt, the toilet needs to be scrubbed, and make sure you do around the edges on the floor. One of you seems to have bad aim late at night."  
  
Both Ryu and Manta simultaneously point to Yoh. Yoh waves his hands like a madman, ranting that he does not!  
  
"And Yoh?" she interrupted him in mid rant.  
  
"...Yes, Anna?" he asked, cautiously, God only knows what he would have to do.  
  
"Go pick up the laundry at the laundry mat downtown, and on the way, run, make sure you do 250 push ups and another 250 sit ups."  
  
Yoh sighed, noticed a death glare lurking, and ran out of the house without a second thought.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Manta sighed as he walked down the hallway with his toilet bowl cleaner in one hand and his scrubber in the other, his shoulders slumped as he walked.  
  
"You should straighten up when you walk, you don't want to develop a back problem at your age," commented Anna who was now laying on a pillow on the living room carpet, watching her soap opera. "...No, Emily don't leave Zander for Nicholas...I told you not to do it..." sighs and shakes her head and munches on popcorn.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
When Yoh returned from the laundry mat and having done his training for the afternoon he sweatdropped at what he heard.  
  
"You're such a fool, just tell him that you love him," came Anna's voice from the livingroom.  
  
Yoh sweatdropped and moved closer to hear what Anna was saying...  
  
"I'm sure that he won't laugh in your face, after all you've been friends with him since you were young..."  
  
Yoh suddenly blinked and thoughts began to run through his mind, 'Anna...loves me? I mean, I always knew that deep down she cared for me, but she loves me? Whoa...maybe I should tell her how I...' He turned the corner, ready to tell her when...he stopped and sweatdropped.  
  
There was Anna, sitting in front of the television, shaking her head, "You should have told him when you had the chance. Now, he's off with Elizabeth and you're all alone..." She tsk'd a few times and then reached for more popcorn.  
  
Yoh nearly fell over backwards at the sight. He should have known. Anna and her soaps...  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
That night after dinner, Manta had tiredly walked home after a full day of scrubbing the toilet and cleaning the bathroom. Ryu was in the kitchen washing the dishes and Yoh for once hadn't been ordered to do anything.  
  
Yoh walked past the sliding glass door, and then stopped as he saw Anna sitting on the porch. The moon was rising and the stars were beginning to appear in the night sky.  
  
She was slowly reaching behind her head to untie her scarf. She took the scarf off of her head and replaced it around her neck, the scarf tails floating silently in the breeze.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
'Is everything really alright now?' she thought, '...It's been a while since the visions, but I just can't seem to get them off my mind. They were so real and I know that I didn't imagine everything that happened to me. My arm, the blood I coughed up, could it have been a warning?'  
  
Her thoughts were broken as she felt something around her. She looked startled at first, and then looked to find Yoh, having just placed a blanket around her shoulders.  
  
"It's cold out here Anna, you shouldn't be out here without a jacket on," explained Yoh, "Mind if I join you?"  
  
"If you like," she replied, moving the blanket closer around her shoulders when she thought he wasn't looking.  
  
Yoh smiled and looked up at the night sky. "It's really quiet tonight isn't it?"  
  
"The calm before the storm perhaps?" she asked, her gaze following his.  
  
"You think so too? I'm sure my next challenge won't be too bad, not with Amidamaru and your training to back me up," he replied with a grin.  
  
"I feel that something may be testing us," she said, avoiding his glance.  
  
"Testing us? How?" he asked, turning to face her.  
  
"...I just have this feeling is all..." whispered the Itako as she held her spirit beads in her hand.  
  
"...Anna..." Yoh stated in no more than a whisper as he watched her.  
  
"Do your best tomorrow, Yoh, and don't let anything distract you..."  
  
"Distract me?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head and smiling at her, "Never happen. Amidamaru and I will be victorious as always."  
  
Amidamaru appeared next to Yoh and nodded, "As long as we stay focused I'm sure that we shall win."  
  
"See Anna? No reason to be worried. I'll become Shaman King and give you that easy life you want," he stated, smiling widely at her.  
  
Both Amidamaru and Yoh thought that Anna would have had a great comeback, but instead she just sat there silently. Her hand gripped the fabric of the blanket and she looked down at the small fountain of water in the yard.  
  
'...If he only knew...I don't really care about an easy life, I care about...no, as an Itako, my job is to train him...I can't let emotion cloud my judgement...I can't tell him how much...'  
  
Yoh looked up at Amidamaru and was a little surprised that Anna had said nothing and had suddenly become so quiet. Amidamaru took that as his cue to leave and waved bye bye to his master. Yoh tried to call him back, but sighed as a sweatdrop appeared on the back of his head.  
  
"...Uh...Anna?" Yoh asked, interrupting her from her thoughts.  
  
"...Yes, what is it?" she answered, with her usual nonchalant tone of voice.  
  
"...I've sensed for quite a while now, that something was bothering you," he began, looking down a little nervous as to how to proceed, "...I thought that maybe you would have talked to me about it...we used to talk about everything."  
  
"Things change, Yoh," she whispered, as she stood up and put the blanket around his shoulders instead, "I wouldn't stay out here too long, if I were you, after all it's pretty cold."  
Yoh thought that he had seen a slight smile appear on her face before she walked back inside and slowly slide the glass door shut behind her.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Once inside she sighed quietly to herself and leaned up against the hallway wall.  
  
'...Why can't I lean to control my emotions? It used to be so easy, but now that I'm living with Yoh it seems that I've become too involved. I was sent here to train him, not to distract him or go easy on him. An Itako must be strong. I must get these thoughts out of my mind and start training him the best I can.'  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A girl sat in front of a sacred fire and suddenly opened her eyes.  
  
"...A dark presence will come for a young girl...but who is she?"  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
That night as Anna lay asleep in her bed and cuddled up to the warm covers, she dreamt of a time when she and Yoh would tell each other everything.  
  
She had been brought up on the Asakura Compound just like Yoh, and their grandparents had engaged them at a young age. Back in those days things were simple: "You stepped on my sand castle!" *SMACK* "Did I say you could have the last cookie?!" *CRASH* "I have to marry him?!" *THUMP* Yeah those were the good old days...  
  
But everything changed when Yoh left the compound and Anna continued her training to be an Itako and become an honorable wife for Yoh. She remembered the day he had left, with that goofy grin on his face.  
  
Even then she had known that her mission would be to train him and to protect him. She could never open herself up to him, for if she had he might have become distracted. As an Itako she would have to shut her emotions off to the rest of the world and be strong enough to train him.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The girl continued to pray for guidance in order to help her solve the mystery of who the girl in her vision had been...  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Morning came and Yoh found himself hit in the head with an alarm clock.  
  
"...Morning..." Twitching "Anna..." Yoh said a large lump forming on the side of his head.  
  
"You're late, breakfast is getting cold, and we have to be to school in less than an hour," she said with a bit of annoyance in her voice, "You'll never be ready for your challenge tonight if you can't even get out of bed on time!"  
  
"Got it! I'm going!"  
  
With that Yoh run toward the bathroom with a bundle of clothes in his hands...  
  
"Well that got him moving..." She then heard a THUD in the hallway and walked out to see what had happened.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yoh lay on the hallway floor after being hit with the bathroom door after it had opened. Horo Horo looked down at Yoh and sweatdropped.  
  
"Sorry about that buddy," he laughed nervously.  
  
Anna looked less than impressed (if there was one thing she hated it was a freeloader!), but before she could speak she found her nose wrinkling up and her hand covering her nose and mouth.  
  
"Yeah, sorry about that too, haven't been feeling very well lately," he rubbed the back of his head and laughed, "Something sure smells good..." he stated as he made his way past Yoh and Anna into the kitchen.  
  
Anna felt like she was going to pass out, 'Something may smell good in the kitchen but it sure in hell doesn't smell good in the hallway!'  
  
Yoh lay twitching on the floor and managed to shut the bathroom door with his foot.  
  
"...That's...so...wrong..."  
  
Anna looked not only ill but extremely upset. "...Yoh, in the future..." she began in between breaths and trying not to gag, "I would appreciate it if you were a better judge of character when it came to choosing friends."  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The girl's eyes opened as the fire showed her the identity of the girl she so desperately wished to know...  
  
"...It can't be..."  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yoh and Anna walked to school, Yoh holding both of their book bags due to the fact that Anna still had her crutches for one more week.  
  
"Hey Anna, you still worried about tonight's tournament?"  
  
"I believe you will do your best," she replied, with a "You better!" statement lurking around.  
  
"Yup, with Amidamaru I'll be fine. Are you going to come?"  
  
She did not reply and Yoh arched an eyebrow, "You came to the others. I'd really like it if you were—  
  
"I'm sure Manta will be there to cheer you on," she replied, stopping him short.  
  
"...Yeah, but..."  
  
"I have things to do this evening..."  
  
Yoh looked down as they continued to head toward the school. Anna seemed colder than usual...  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The girl shook her head in disbelief, "...No...no it can't be...it's...it's..." she stopped, her voice no more than a whisper when she spoke once more, "...Anna..."  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Woo! Way to go me! 2 chapters up in such a short period of time! Hope you enjoyed! Please Review, Ja Ne! 


	6. Something Wicked This Way Comes

Asuka02RedEva Serenitymoon@lycos.com Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King or any of the characters used in this story.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Well here we go! Hope that you enjoyed the last chapter. Thank you very much for your kind reviews! ^.^  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
After school had let out, Anna had sent Yoh straight home in order to prepare for tonight's round. She felt badly about being so cold to him, but it couldn't be helped. She was an itako, as well as, a trainer first and a loving fiancée second. To be honest, she didn't know how to let Yoh know how she felt. They were friends, and they were engaged...but was there anything else? The engagement had been planned and there hadn't really been any objection...sure, Yoh had come to an entirely different part of Japan, but that was for training purposes, had nothing to do with him wanting to get the hell away from Anna...^.^()...  
  
She passed by a shop window and caught her reflection in the mirror. She looked worried, but she forced herself to be optimistic about the outcome of tonight's battle. Yoh would be victorious. He just had to, she couldn't lose him...  
  
Her thoughts came to a hault as she found herself near the hospital and it was as if a light bulb had suddenly been lit. She would beat the doctor with the cast on her leg if he wouldn't remove it this very day...  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
That night as Yoh was gathering his things for the tournament, Manta passed by Anna's room, the door was open. He took a few steps back and knocked lightly on the open door.  
  
"Yes?" asked Anna, not bothering to look up from her book.  
  
"...Yoh is about ready to leave, aren't you coming?" replied Manta, with a question.  
  
"You're going aren't you?"  
  
"...Yes..."  
  
"Good. Then Yoh doesn't need another cheerleader in his corner," she explained, a matter of factly, turning the page of her book.  
  
Manta was a little taken back. Anna seemed cold...well...colder than usual at least. It wasn't like her to not go cheer...well...order Yoh during his battle.  
  
"I just figured, that since you got your cast off early..." (if he only knew, the poor doctor is still out cold on the floor), "you would come with us tonight."  
  
"Again," she replied, with little emotion, her eyes following the lines of the book, "I'm sure that you can handle the cheerleading section, squirt. Make sure to remember your pom poms and you'll be fine."  
  
Manta blinked at first, he couldn't believe that Anna (of all people) was showing such little of an interest to the battle that would be taking place shortly. He heard Yoh's door close and slowly walked down the hallway towards the front door.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yoh waited in Anna's doorway for a moment, "I'm going now, Anna," he announced with one of his familiar smiles shining through.  
  
"Alright, thanks for letting me know. Be sure to lock the door behind you when you leave," she replied, finishing her chapter and closing the book slowly.  
  
"...Anna..." Yoh began, obviously put out, "you've been like this all day, and I know that something is wrong with you, why won't you talk to me?"  
  
"You're going to be late if you don't get going," her back was now to him as she placed the closed book on the shelf, "Just do you best tonight, that's all you can do."  
  
Yoh sighed and then shook his head before leaving, "You know, Anna, the battle really isn't as important as you are. If something's wrong, I wish you could trust me enough to tell me."  
When she turned around to explain he had already disappeared down the hall and she heard the front door shut shortly after.  
  
'...I do trust you...it's myself I don't trust at the moment...I don't know what to believe anymore...did my imagination really conjure up the images? The nightmares? What if, I were to tell him...his mind would not be clear. Yoh's driven too much by his emotions, and if he has to worry about me and my non—  
  
Her thoughts ended as she heard the front door open once more, but this time it didn't shut. Had Yoh returned?  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Hey, Yoh?" asked Manta as they headed towards the appointed site.  
  
"Yeah, pal?" replied Yoh, his thoughts obviously elsewhere at the moment as he walked beside his little (I couldn't resist) buddy.  
  
"...Why didn't Anna come with us?" he wondered out loud, curiosity in his voice.  
  
"Anna, hasn't been herself lately, and she won't talk to me. She just said to do my best tonight," he trailed off, with a bit of concern evident in his voice, as well as, his features.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna suddenly felt a cold chill run down her spine as she stopped herself from proceeding down the hallway. Something was in the house...but it wasn't Yoh...  
  
She took her spirit beads in her hand and held them tightly. She could sense a shaman...and a powerful one at that. Anna closed her eyes in order to help her focus and detect exactly where he was. The power being emitted was too strong to be female. This shaman had a power unlike any she had ever come across, only read about.  
  
But Anna didn't need a guardian ghost to aid her in times such as these, she had some pretty persuasive ways of dealing with intruders (aka: her right hook). Something about this presence bothered her though. Something didn't feel right...  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Yoh was already into his battle and was doing his best to keep up his strength. His opponent would not be easy to beat. He kept hearing Amidamaru telling him to stay focused, but in the back of Yoh's mind he couldn't help but think of Anna.  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Anna quickly opened her eyes as she felt a powerful blow send her flying into the wall at the end of the hallway. She slowly slid down the wall and tried to register what had just happened. The attack had come so quickly, that she hadn't even sensed the shaman so close to her.  
  
She slowly stood up, finding her bearings, only to come face to face with him...  
  
"Hao!?" her reply more of a question than a statement.  
  
"It would appear that I have come at a good time after all, my other half doesn't seem to be here," he replied, all too calmly with a slight smirk, "of course, I knew he wouldn't be."  
  
Anna glared at him, "What do you want?" she asked, bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning up against the wall.  
  
"What do I want?" he repeated, his smirk broadening, "I wanted you to react differently to the visions I sent you."  
  
"So you're the one, hmm?," she replied, her emotionless look now plastered on her face, "Do go on..."  
  
"If you had been any other woman then you would have run straight to your fiancée and told him of the terrible things you were experiencing, and then, of course, his mind would not have been clear...I'm sure you see where I'm going with this," explained Hao, with a matter of fact tone, "you're rather intelligent, now aren't you?"  
  
"So you figured that Yoh's mind wouldn't be clear had I told him. Which would mean that he would never have to face you in the Shaman Tournament, that way you wouldn't have to fear being defeated."  
  
"Well, well, it seems that I cannot get anything past you. It's really too bad that things couldn't have gone according to plan," he closed his eyes for a moment and smirked, "well, well, well, it would appear that my other side has won another round. You should be pleased, you trained him well."  
  
"Spare me with the flattery. What did you hope to gain by showing yourself to me?"  
  
"A wife of course," he moved in quickly, now only inches from her face, "only you are worthy of becoming the queen of the shaman king, my wife of—  
  
He was cut off as Anna's hand came flying up towards his face. He caught her hand with his own and smirked, his eyes full of amusement.  
  
Anna stood in shock for a moment before coming to her senses and reaching up with her other hand, only to have that too caught by his swift hand.  
  
"...Now, now, now...I'm sure you'll come to see things my way eventually. After all, if Yoh continues to compete in the tournament, he becomes one step closer to his death," he whispered seductively in her ear, "And if he won't back out of the tournament? That's what's on your mind isn't it? Well, should he refuse, then we'll just have to make him see the light, now won't we?"  
  
Anna arched an eyebrow, showing no fear, she wouldn't let herself be an easy victim, "What do you mean, we?"  
  
Hao's smirk showed traces of evil as his eyes narrowed, "Did he not say that some things were more important to him then the tournament?"  
  
Anna's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. Hao nodded in approval, "Now you're starting to understand...if something should happen to you, then whatever would my other half do?"  
  
@-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	7. Doomed?

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King or any of the characters used in this story.

-

Sorry that the last chapter was so short, but I just wanted to build up a little anxiety for what was to come...don't worry, there has been some concern about a Hao x Anna romance, and I assure you that is NOT the case. Feel better?

Anna stepped back, and drove her elbow into Hao's side forcing him to let go. She had to make it to the front door, but as she ran down the hallway she suddenly heard...

-

Yoh walked through the door and yawned with a large stretch following.

"Man, am I beat!" He suddenly became serious as he sensed a powerful shaman...not just any shaman... "Anna?!"

Anna met Yoh at the front door, "Yoh! We have to..." Before she could finish, Yoh watched as she was lifted up off the ground and as her body smashed into the living room wall and lost consciousness.

"Anna!" Yoh yelled, as he started toward the living room.

Hao smirked, "I will not tolerate such rudeness," he stated with a very calm tone, "Well, welcome home, it seems that you have interrupted my fun..."

Amidamaru appeared next to Yoh suddenly, "Master Yoh, we must over soul immediately!"

-

Anna slowly made it to her feet. She had no idea how much time had passed, or how long she had been out. She looked out in horror to watch Hao easily toss Yoh aside; he was losing his furioku at a rapid speed.

"Yoh!" she yelled, trying to get to him, but the blow had hurt her more than she had known.

"Anna...stay back!" yelled Yoh as he gave Hao another strike with his blade.

"This just isn't any fun at all," stated Hao, with a sigh, as his smirk grew wider.

Hao easily dodged Yoh and Amidamaru's attack. Yoh was about to attack once more when Hao suddenly disappeared.

Yoh was taken back when he suddenly remembered Anna and ran into the living room, he was only a few feet from reaching her. Suddenly, Anna's eyes widened as Hao appeared in between her and Yoh.

"Now the fun shall really begin!" he yelled, with a laugh soon following, as he easily picked Yoh up off the floor and dealt the fatal blow...

-

"No!!!" yelled Anna, dropping to her knees as she looked around to find herself still in the hallway, and no traces of Yoh anywhere.

"It would appear that you love my other half much more than I had first expected. Now, this does make my little game a great deal more interesting," explained Hao as he looked down at Anna, with that arrogant smirk.

"...I'll...I'll go with you..." she whispered, feeling inferior to him at the moment, for having allowed herself to be manipulated through his vision.

"I thought you would see it my way," he replied, holding out his hand to her.

Anna smacked his hand away and stood up on her own. She arched an eyebrow at him questionably when he motioned to her spirit beads. With a glare as cold as ice, she removed them and shoved them into his hand.

"Promise me that no harm will come to Yoh," she stated in an emotionless tone, not allowing him to read her thoughts.

"Yes, yes no harm shall come to my other half..." He arched an eyebrow as she went to the kitchen and took out a piece of paper and a pen from a drawer, "Do you really feel it necessary to write him a letter? Won't he already be heart broken enough?" He sounded as if he cared, but the evil smirk plastered on his face said differently.

"If I just disappear, don't you think Yoh will be suspicious?" she asked, with a flat tone of voice, never looking up at him.

"Always thinking ahead, that is one of the things that set you aside from most; however, do not try to place any hints within your letter my dear..."

"...I wouldn't dream of it..." Anna stated, with a sarcastic tone and then began to write...

-

'Oh, how long is this bus ride?!' She sweatdropped, ' ...Of course, the master said, '_I'm sure that you're over reacting Tamao, remember you do often mistake your visions.'_ Yes, I know I SOMETIMES mess up...well...ok...LOTS of times, I mess up, but not this time. Something just tells me that Anna is in trouble...and if Anna is in trouble then Yoh will...'

She shook her head and jumped off the bus, quickly pulling out a map, '...That's not important at the moment!' she scolded herself, it didn't matter how she felt for Yoh at that point in time because if something was going to happen to Anna then Yoh would need to know immediately. 'I just hope I'm not too late!'

-

Yoh opened the front door, "Anna, I'm back...won the match..." he managed to announce in between yawns. He looked around to find the house quite empty and shrugged, "Must have gone out. Man, I'm starved; too bad Ryu isn't here to whip something up." As he set a plate of leftovers on the table he noticed an envelope with his name on it. He held the letter with one hand, and a chicken leg in the other, "Probably Anna telling me what to do while she's out..."

Yoh,

Congratulations on winning tonight's battle. It would appear that you are no longer in need of my assistance. I am leaving town, so you're on your own. As for our engagement, consider it off, I am obviously not needed around here. Please tell your grandfather that no one these days carries through with arranged marriages, they're just so out of date. Good luck in the future, I'm sure Tamao would love to be your queen.

Anna

Yoh's mouthful of chicken nearly flew across the room. This was not a training list, a chore list, hell, not even a grocery list! Anna had left! The training was one thing...but...the engagement was off? Didn't she want to be the Shaman Queen and have an easy life????

He ran to Anna's room to confirm her leaving. Yup, sure enough, her belongings were gone.

(Hao must have a plot hole or something...little bubble pops up

Chibi Anna: pushing things into a plot hole

Chibi Hao: Faster Faster!

Chibi Anna: I'm going; I'm going, slave driver!").

-

Manta arrived for his and Yoh's 'try to study' session and came to an abrupt stop when he didn't hear commands being shouted throughout the house.

'Anna must be out?' he thought to himself, trying not to let his smile grow too big.

When he ventured into the living room his smile suddenly faded as he found Yoh and Amidamaru on the couch (Yoh sitting, Amidamaru hovering) looking rather lost.

"Hey Yoh, what's up? You ready to study?" asked Manta as he joined them on the couch. "Uh...Yoh?" he questioned, having gotten no reply.

"Huh?" Yoh looked up from the letter, "Oh, I'm not really in a studying mood at the moment buddy..."

"When are you ever in a studying mood?" Manta said jokingly, but seeing his joke fail miserably led him to question Amidamaru. "What's wrong with you two? You acted like you lost the match tonight."

"I am afraid that Master Yoh received some rather..." he sweatdropped, "Bad? Good?" his sweatdrop grew as he whispered near Yoh's ear, "What kind of news would you say you received?"

Yoh had no real reply to their questions. Was he happy or sad that Anna had left? He had gotten used to the fact that she was always here and there to help him out, she didn't need to say that she cared for him...he just knew...but why had she left? Was it something he had done?

-

Ryu walked in to find Yoh, Amidamaru, AND Manta all on the couch at a loss for words. Apparently Yoh or Amidamaru had informed Manta of the current situation. Manta's mouth was still open and had been for quite some time.

"What are you doing sitting in the dark? And where is Miss Anna? I need to ask her what needs to be cleaned this evening and what she wants me to make for dessert."

Of course, he received no reply at first. He only noticed that all eyes were fixated on the piece of paper in Yoh's hand. Ryu shrugged and helped himself to the interesting article, taking it out of Yoh's hand.

Ryu's eyes widened. "Just as I expected! Miss Anna DOES have a boyfriend."

"No way, Ryu! Anna would never..." Yoh slowly began to shut up as he noticed that Manta and Amidamaru had both come out of their stupor.

"And it would appear that you were not faithful either" commented Ryu with a TSK.

"What?!" exclaimed Yoh, getting a tad defensive.

"Well, if you had been faithful than Miss Anna would never have felt the reason to add Tamao's name in this letter."

Suddenly the wheels were turning as Yoh took back the letter and re-read certain parts...

"Please tell your grandfather that no one..."

"Stop!" yelled Manta as he snatched the letter from Yoh's hand, "Please tell your grandfather..."

'What???" Yoh suddenly had a large sweatdrop.

"Just listen, Anna wouldn't just pick up and leave, plus how would she have moved everything so quickly?"

Yoh and Amidamaru shrugged. Ryu opened his mouth to say something, but Manta quickly hurried on...

"There's gotta be something in this letter that will give us a clue. She's asking you to tell your grandfather..."

"But I won't be seeing him until after the tournament."

"Exactly! So she wants you to get in contact with your grandfather before the tournament ends."

Amidamaru gave Yoh the 'smile and nod' look and Manta sighed and shook his head, while Ryu was trying to figure out why they were smiling and nodding like idiots.

"Are we playing charades?" he asked, hopefully.

Manta fell over backwards. 5 minutes later

"Now why would Anna mention Tamao's name?" asked Ryu, with a smirk, "Because she knows that..."

"Because she knows that Tamao is...uh..." began Yoh with a rather complexed look on his face.

"Because..." Amidamaru trailed off and then shrugged, "I've got nothing master Yoh..."

Manta had now covered an entire teaching size chalk board with diagrams as to how to decipher the letter at hand. "Now look, it's very simple, Anna wants you...that's you Yoh..."

"Oh! Ok...continue..."

Manta sighed and continued on with his theory, "She wants you to contact your grandfather because he knows that she can't break the engagement, and the reason why Anna mentioned Tamao is because she knows that Tamao is with your grandfather and has visions so she can pinpoint her location..."

Swirlies were now in Yoh's, Amidamaru's, and Ryu's eyes. Manta smacked his head against the wall in vain.

-

Meanwhile Anna was (oh so very comfy) in her new room. The room was in a similar fashion to the one she had when she was growing up, but something about this room gave her the chills. Maybe it was the fact that Hao had designed it and had known about her room as a child?

She sat on the window sill seat and looked out at the ocean beyond her reach. She let out a soft and annoyed sigh as her thoughts came to the same conclusion:

"The only possible candidates for reading my letter are Yoh, Ryu, possibly Amidamaru...I have no hope of getting out of here..."

She lowered her head and shook it as the truth hit her like a ton of bricks. Yoh was cute, he was sweet, but when it came to common sense...yeah...that pretty much sums it up...but wait...there was hope...

"...My life is in the hands of..."

-

"ANNA. NEEDS. YOUR. HELP.," dictated Manta as he pointed to each word on the board with a yard stick, "CALL. YOUR. GRANDFATHER. TO. HAVE. TAMOE. TRACK. HER. DOWN."

Yoh, Amidamaru, and Ryu continued to turn the letter upside down, on its sides, and in all directions as if expecting the words to magically appear before their very eyes.

-

Anna had fallen backwards onto the window seat. "The squirt...he's the only one who possesses any common sense at all out of all of Yoh's 'groupies'...Oh, in the future I will make it my personal goal to be kinder to those with half a brain..." With that she placed a pillow over her head.

-

My apologies for not getting a chapter out for so long but I wasn't home all summer. I'll do my best to write more in a much shorter time period. Ja Ne =.=


	8. What a Rescue Team

A/N: Oh what the heck, I happened to think of my fanfic and I was in the mood so here's a snippet for anyone who is interested.

-

Chapter 8: One Directionally Challenged Girl And Four Idiots

-

Tamao sweatdropped, now she could have sworn that Yoh's house was this way…or was it that way? She looked down the street and then back at the map, funny none of these places looked right…she then looked at the header of the map she was holding, "Kyoto" she stated out loud as her head hung in defeat, wrong city, wrong map, where's the bus stop?

-

Yoh, Manta, Ryu, and Horo Horo—who received some stares as he stepped out of the bathroom—were all sitting in the living room. Manta had informed Horo of Anna's disappearance and even he wore a 'And the problem is?' look before Manta fully explained her note.

"So Anna's disappeared, do you think that it has anything to do with the tournament?" asked Horo, surveying the group after not getting much of a response from Yoh who had a vacant look on his face.

"Miss Anna could have been kidnapped, I suppose," stated Ryu, sitting on the couch across from Yoh.

"In the past I've been targeted to lure Yoh into a battle," commented Manta, thinking that Ryu might be onto something, "but who would actually be able to get Anna out of the house?" he asked with a cringe at the thought of the endless violence that would accompany that 'lucky' individual.

"Master Yoh, what do you think?" questioned Amidamaru, appearing behind his young friend.

"…If someone did take Anna…" Yoh began, leaning forward and resting his hands on his knees, "then they would have had to have rendered her defenseless or over powered her. Anna's not the type to give up so easily…and there was no sign of a struggle either."

"Yoh's got a point; it doesn't look like anything is out of place, despite the letter that you found," Horo pointed out.

"If Manta is right about Miss Anna's note being some sort of a clue then where do we begin?" Ryu asked, looking to Yoh, "Master Yoh, you know her better than any of us…"

-

Anna lifted the pillow from her head and stared up at the ceiling. Nope. She was still there. Would any of them be smart enough to figure out her cryptic note? Even if Manta did decipher its hidden meaning, would Yoh be able to find her, and what if he did? Would Hao simply kill him where he stood?

She rolled over, hugging the pillow tightly against her chest. Without her prayer beads she had no hope of contacting anyone. Her eyes widened in recognition…but there was a witness to her kidnapping…and she was in the house!

-

Tamao stepped off the bus, now holding the right map and seeing street names that actually matched up with those on the map—imagine that? Of course, five minutes later she noticed that she had been holding the map upside down and smacking her forehead with her hand she headed north instead of south. Don't worry Yoh and Anna help was on the way!

-

"I wish that someone would have been here to see what had happened," stated Manta with a sigh.

"I shouldn't have left Miss Anna alone for so long," commented Ryu, looking down at his hands in his lap.

Yoh looked up, "It's no one's fault. I knew that something was wrong with Anna weeks ago, but she wouldn't tell me anything. She kept saying 'focus on your training' and 'do your best'."

"Master Yoh," whispered Amidamaru, pointing behind them.

"Hmm?" Yoh turned his head to find the spirit of the daughter sitting in the spot that Anna always claimed in front of the television. He blinked in realization, "Ano…did you happen to see Anna before she left?"

The spirit merely nodded her head, sitting on her knees, with her hands in her lap. All four moved closer to her their eyes widening.

-

Tamao nearly jumped up and down at the sight of Yoh's house up ahead. She had made it! And it only had taken half a day! Hooray! See? She didn't ALWAYS make mistakes…she merely took detours…

-

Yoh had coaxed Amidamaru to ask the questions and see if he could interpret her answers. Truth was she didn't talk much, and it seemed that Anna was the only one who truly understood her.

"…Did you happen to see if Anna left with anyone?" began Amidamaru politely.

The girl merely nodded her head in response as he continued, "And was it another shaman?" Again she nodded. Great, that narrowed it down a lot. "Was there a struggle?" The girl looked down sadly and nodded, motioning to a fallen bead on the carpet.

Yoh bent down and picked up the small blue bead, "…It's one of Anna's prayer beads…"

Ryu gulped, "Which means that she may be completely defenseless…"

Yoh opened his mouth when a CRASH came from the hallway; all four nearly yelled out in surprise. Horo and Ryu stood up in defense; ready for a fight had the culprit returned. However, all blinked when they saw a young girl, step out from around the corner, carefully trying to stand the coat rack upright, with a bag over her shoulder.

"Yoh!" she cried out happily.

"Tamao?" he said with a blink, watching her blush.

Shaking her head and trying to erase the blush on her cheeks, "I have something important to tell you and Anna…" she looked around the room to find the Itako missing, and with a sigh after searching their eyes, "…I'm too late?" she asked.


End file.
